Hey all I thought Id at least start a weekly weigh in for my self and hope for the best. I guess the trick is to keep going down and not once again reach the point of what feels like "NO RETURN"From 126kg to 84kg then back up to 122.9kg Ive pretty much done it all even lapband surgery? (that ones a long story... lets just say Im here again and slowly creeping back down.

Week 4 into my program Ive managed to loose 6.1kg... below is where we began the "journey".. sorry I know cheesy word.. but here it is

Start weight... 122.9kg eekkk

week one lost 3kgweek two lost 1.3week three lost 700g "sigh"week four lost 1.2kg

Weekly weigh ins are on Saturday and so heres hoping for a good result. Thankyou to those who on other threads that have been wonderful and supportive in the past few weeks its been a really big help with the "mental process" of this battle.Ive had to stop and think about why Im this big? Ive found that I have a good "blocking out" talent in my brain that can shut off and just go for it... Not really thinking about the effects that fried what ever may be doing to my body....

Things have changed in the past 2 years that have opened my eyes! made me see that this is the only body I have (unless science is willing to trade me a new one... and since we are dreaming maybe a size 10 would be nice) Im blessed to have a husband who has always loved me for me big, bigger or smaller.... so I have never felt the need to do it for anyone but me.

1 month in and Im ok. No ones really noticed a big change yet, that sucks! not even me to tell you the truth! I feel the same as i did 4 weeks ago, I dont think Ive changed a lot and most things are still pretty much fitting as they were. Im thinking it takes much longer like last time. It took me to get to about 98kg before i was feeling different as Ive always been way over 100kg.. I know its not about fitting into anything, well for me its not this time around as it always has been in the past, so I will keep plotting along and get to the turn around point, you know the day where you look back and go WOW~ Ive finally lost it, i dont know where its gone and I have no plans to go find it either? and if it does start to slowly visit again I will not let it visit that long..

Thats the big mistake ive always made. Getting it off and then letting it come back in 20kg lots! NO... I have to just keep on top of it. I get it now its about lifestyle changes not a quick fix any more.

Don't worry too much about what people notice - most people are very unobservant. I was just over 3 months of losing weight and had lost 30 kilos before the penny dropped for most of my friends. Of those that did notice - many were too shy to comment to my face at the time until the results started to beg talk. The results will suddenly appear for you too. That is because a lot of your weight loss isn't happening on your front yet but from your back, sides and bottom. The first 10% loss also isn't so noticeable...but are the most important. That is the fat that is surrounding your inner organs - the really unhealthy stuff that is killing you. You won't see that go...but your health is all for the better because it is gone.

During my journey I was always acutely aware of the creeping back up factor. I never concentrated too much about the end goal but rather on making the next day's number lower than the day before. The trouble with regaining weight is the sheer waste of effort that is lost as a result. For example, if you gain a kilo - that means that if you lose it again; you have to basically do twice the work...and in the time it took you to regain the ground, you could have used that time losing more weight.

As careful as I was, I still fell into that trap. If I had had no gains during my journey I would have reached goal at week 40 instead of week 60! I counted up how many kilos I actually lost during the journey - I lost 124.8 kilos!...basically I lost 47.7 kilos extra because of gains during my journey in order to lose 87.1 kilos that I did. So you can see why it is important to remain faithful to the task and keep your weight from blowing back up again - the journey is quicker and easier if you do!

Thanks Kim, I really appreciated the comments. Thank you for your insight as Id never really thought about where the weight might be and yes.. it makes perfect sense that the internal organs are fat bound as well, so if anything a good thing that I cant notice much at this stage, hopefully things inside my body are feeling better as well.

It is a depressing thought to think of all the weight id loss then re gained and I find it amazing just how quick I put it all back on! I can honestly sit here and know when and where I went wrong.. Life threw me some crisis's and I gave up on myself while trying to get my head space around what was going on... I really have to somehow learn to just keep fighting through and eventually i will get there...

I jumped on the "band wagon" so to speak... having the lapband i must say from my experience (and i can only go from my journey) was the biggest decision I had done in my life that's just how bad i wanted to be "thin."

I say thin without even putting my health up there with the main reason at the time.... and for me and I can speak for myself i feel It was done for all the wrong reasons... I see that now. I don't regret it though.. I just wish I took more time to really get my head around what it entailed! for me a painful, complicated experience, with a long boring story attached. Iam not dwelling on that just glad I am back in a routine again and as long as i can keep that going it will make life easier.

Thanks for the advice I will keep that in mind especially for when Im craving something with absolutely no nutritional value what so ever Ive been good though, the first two weeks where Id usually snack at night near the telly was hard but Ive mastered that now... Yes I still snack but its usually with something like fruit or in moderation so far so good.

Weight loss is all about getting the head in the right place first. Once that is nailed down the rest of it falls into place. In order for us to get our head's right we often have to take a lot of dead ends before we "get it".

It is always interesting watching weight loss shows...the coaches really have to work hard to get into the people's heads to move them from defeatist and sabotage thinking into belief and passion. Once the switch is hit however you see a big change. No longer do you see them making excuses why they can't do stuff and that things are too hard for them to do - they just do it (to quote a popular advertising slogan)!

My favourite speaker, the late Howard Hendricks once stopped a student on his way to an exam and asked him how he was doing...the student replied stressfully "Okay Prof...under the circumstances" to which Hendricks quipped "What are you doing under there?"! The point he was making is that how we react to situations is within our control. We choose to allow events in our life to dictate our emotions rather than rising above them. A lady who was on a weight loss show the other night made a valid point. She had undergone a year of transformation losing a great deal of weight. It wasn't easy for her...family issues, financial issues and health issues had to be dealt with as well as tackling losing a massive amount of weight but she said that all of these things were just the cards she was dealt with and that she had to play them the best way she could. She no longer used her life's situations to hold her back. Her head was in the right place...and the better future was hers for the taking!

klas26 wrote:Ive been good though, the first two weeks where Id usually snack at night near the telly was hard but Ive mastered that now... Yes I still snack but its usually with something like fruit or in moderation so far so good.

Excellent work here...it is changing these bad habits into good habits...piece by piece in our lives that puts us on the pathway to a successful healthy lifestyle. keep it up!

Well... As I quietly predicted I was not going to loose a heap this week.. so a 400g loss was a little blahhhhh for me at my Saturday weigh in...In saying that I knew where I may of bombed out but i did try to make the right choices when I was being a social butterfly last week.

SO... back to it this week with Monday and Tuesday pretty standard. No break of routine which is always something I struggle with.. Im wrapped it was a loss and not a gain so who am i to complain about that I went out a few times and the healthiest option like the grilled chicken wrap with chips (was ordered) and although I ordered it without the chips they were there on my plate, staring at me. I happily didnt eat the chips. Boy they looked amazing, you know those big crunchy cafe style awesome chips that would of ended up on my thighs, belly or butt......... (now breathe ) and yes yes i know its all in moderation but I want to shift some more weight in the coming weeks with the lead up to Christmas.

ANY loss is a good loss. It may not be as good as you wanted but it is still better than the alternative!

You have to expect a few slow downs along the way as you navigate through "normal life" while learning new healthy habits and coping skills. The fact that you did as well as you did is a real credit to you. Also you were able to pin where you went wrong is great. This is how we learn the best lessons...this experience prepares us for the next time. Reflect on it and start figuring out how you could have handled the situation better - then you will be forearmed for your next similar encounter...and win out next time!

I like how you dealt with the chip temptation very much. The more you practice linking that thought that the food calling you to it will actually move you away from something more important - your weight loss!That is why I don't refer to stuff like chips as "bad" but rather as "unhelpful". In my mind, the food is unhelpful in achieving my greater goals such as staying healthy and slim...so it is best left out.

I hope that you took that brisk walk! One of the unexpected things I found during my weight loss journey was the joy of exercise.Sure it was hard going and rivers of sweat has poured out of this old body in effort...but there is also an upside as well.Good honest exercise brings a sense of well being, accomplishment, focus and re-enforces motivation.

This healthy lifestyle is about change - change of character. To become a person of character who will do the right thing (maintain a healthy lifestyle) whether they feel up to it or not. To be accountable and responsible is the test of that character.

Blitz wrote: One of the unexpected things I found during my weight loss journey was the joy of exercise.

Amen to that!!! If anyone had told me (even) a year ago that I'd be addicted to going to the gym I'd have told them they must have had one of weights fall on them and affect their vision because that would NEVER be me!!!Well look at me now, I'm at the gym 5-6 times a week and I workout between 1.5 to 2.5 hrs each time!!! And I love it!!!

Todays one of those days and its only 10am..a brisk walk might help if i can get motivated..

Hope you took that walk; it will have helped rid you of the urge to eat and made you feel better at the same time!! I know it's hard, really it's a tough journey and there will be days like "those"; I get them from time to time too but these days, I deal with a whole lot better and differently than I ever did. Occasionally I will surrender to the urge and eat because I know my body is screaming for fuel because I've depleted it during a couple of intense workouts, other times it's just my body's way of trying to revisit old (gluttony) territory (and I can recognise the difference so don't give in to it)!! You will get to learn the difference, that will come in time, and when that happens you'll be in control and win this battle once and for all!!! For now, hang in there and walk it off girlfriend!! xx

Todays one of those days and its only 10am..a brisk walk might help if i can get motivated..

Hope you took that walk; it will have helped rid you of the urge to eat and made you feel better at the same time!! I know it's hard, really it's a tough journey and there will be days like "those"; I get them from time to time too but these days, I deal with a whole lot better and differently than I ever did. Occasionally I will surrender to the urge and eat because I know my body is screaming for fuel because I've depleted it during a couple of intense workouts, other times it's just my body's way of trying to revisit old (gluttony) territory (and I can recognise the difference so don't give in to it)!! You will get to learn the difference, that will come in time, and when that happens you'll be in control and win this battle once and for all!!! For now, hang in there and walk it off girlfriend!! xx

Haha yeah I took that walk.. must admit i felt better... So tomorrow is the next weigh in and I know i have not done a heap of moving around this week. How do you get motivated? at 116.4kg still am very much finding it hard to get up and get moving... I know it gets easier Ive been there, but Its a catch 22 atm because im battling my head space vs my motivation vs my body and its s a bit of a struggle this week....

Todays one of those days and its only 10am..a brisk walk might help if i can get motivated..

Haha yeah I took that walk.. must admit i felt better... So tomorrow is the next weigh in and I know i have not done a heap of moving around this week. How do you get motivated? at 116.4kg still am very much finding it hard to get up and get moving... I know it gets easier Ive been there, but Its a catch 22 atm because im battling my head space vs my motivation vs my body and its s a bit of a struggle this week....

NEED SOME MOTIVATION

Glad to hear you went on the walk and really pleased to learn that you felt better afterwards! That's a great start, I used to feel exhausted, and so sore that it made me want to promise myself I'd never do it again. Thankfully I didn't keep those promises and as time went on, I started to feel better and now its the sense of achievement and generally "feeling" good or better afterwards that keeps me motivated!! Those endorphins kick in and make you feel you're on a natural high!! But it wasn't always like that, it took a lot of baby steps to get to where I am today. I hated exercise and for as long as I can remember, even the thought of getting up off the couch was too much exertion for me to (want to) deal with let alone, actually do!!! I know it's hard, and at 136kg it was a struggle to move period! but I knew that I had to do something!! So I'd set small targets, no need to run a marathon, just a few minutes each time and work on building it up from there!!The reason we lack motivation isn't because we can't do something it's because we won't!!! You have to want something bad enough to go for it!! The real battle isn't with that flight of stairs or the walking track in front of your face, it's with(in) your head!!! Once you conquer the resistance to change (your attitude) your body will follow the minds lead and the weight loss will be far easier, you'll see!!!

Motivation? Here is a big one - If you don't start looking after your health now...you will die years before you should!

One of the great motivations that kept me on track during my weight loss journey was the realisation that my body had come to the end of the line. Years of abuse was starting to take it's toll on my body and if I didn't turn it around, I was looking at an early death.During my walks/jogging sessions I always pushed myself with the mental image of death and his scythe chasing me down the street. Certainly concentrates the mind to move the butt a little faster!

In exercise I used music and mantras to keep me going. Nike's slogan "just do it" was one such mantra that would shift me from sitting around to getting myself on the exercise bike. Others like "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger", "failure is not an option" and "you put the weight on - now you are obligated to take it off" proved helpful. In music, songs become mantras of weight loss meaning. Obvious ones like the Angels' 'Eat City' and Bowie's "Heroes" are simple enough to understand but I used all sorts of songs. Some just had driving beats that I could pound along to such as AC/DC's "Let There Be Rock" but others were songs that had private and deep meanings that spoke to my condition and spirit.

Another motivation I used was not wanting to be a hypocrite. I wanted to be authentic to my God, wife and daughter, family and friends. I wasn't just going to talk the talk of weight loss - I was going to walk the walk (and literally at that!) of weight loss. Being true to the character that you claim to be now means that you have to follow through. Often I would move myself into action or resist doing things I ought not to with the words "that was the old you - that is not what the new you does".

As for weight loss itself...I concentrated not on the big picture but rather on smaller steps. Whilst my aim was always to lose 87kg; my main focus was losing smaller amounts daily and weekly. Each day I weighed myself with the goal to be lower than the day before. If I did it than I moved on...if I had gained I was motivated to stop the rot and lose the gain (and then some). I also had mini targets that I used as carrots to move me forward. I would have round numbers in kilos or pounds (in 10's and 5's etc) to reach. Percentages (10% of goal weight etc), fractions (two thirds loss etc) and anything else I could think of. I was never 2 or 3 kilos away from a mini target to stretch out for. Success breeds success (and motivation) - reaching each of these mini goals gave me a sense of achievement which carried me forward.

Thank you both Yes I do agree Kim, baby steps that's pretty much what I keep telling myself ATM

So this weeks weigh in was a 900g loss

115.5kg I'm not worries about the .5 I'm focusing in on the main number.. That's how I process it in my head so aiming for 114. Something 113 112 111 and so on... Weekends ATM are a bit harder then during the week for me as break of daily routine tends to get in my way but in saying that I've made better choices, choices that I'm going to need to make when I'm no longer on a set calerie controlled menu!!